McCann Street Bar & Grill

Judd Byrnes, who owns Judd's Downtown, is bringing back McCann St. Bar & Grill on McCann Road in Longview. (Jo Lee Ferguson/性视界传媒 Photo)

The next generation of McCann St. Bar & Grill will celebrate its grand opening 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday.

The restaurant and bar operated for almost 40 years starting in at least 1973 at 1217 McCann Road, with an approximate two-year break in there after a fire damaged the building.

It closed permanently in October 2012, succumbing to an economic downturn. When it closed, then co-owner Tammy Smith made an almost prophetic statement in an Oct. 20, 2012, article in the 性视界传媒.

"It's very possible that someone may open it back up and keep it McCann Street Grill," she said.

It took a while, and few other restaurants opened and closed there over the years. Now Longview restaurateur Judd Byrnes is reopening the business under its original name.

He's been working preparing the inside since this past summer. Byrnes also owns Judd's Downtown, which will continue operating on Tyler Street.

Byrnes didn't immediately return a phone call this week, but he previously said the menu will include some of the original restaurant's popular items along with some new items.聽

— Ferguson can be reached at jferguson@news-journal.com.

Jo Lee Ferguson wishes she kept her maiden name - Hammer - because it was perfect for a reporter. She’s a local girl who loves writing about her hometown. She and LNJ Managing Editor Randy Ferguson have two children and a crazy husky.